Olou’s interest and commitment to bring electricity and opportunities to Benin’s small- and medium-scale enterprises started in 2012 when, back home after years abroad pursuing higher education, he came to grips with the reality of there being a big gap between the aspirations of local entrepreneurs and the affordances of Benin’s electric power system. An example is the cotton industry, with Benin’s traders exporting mostly raw cotton to countries like Bangladesh and then importing woven fabric or even second-hand clothing. In 2013, Focus Energy was born with the idea to expand access to productive uses of energy and promote Benin’s economic development through decentralised energy solutions. Olou’s business is now a very successful venture, having since then been rebranded as ZED Motors and expanded to include solar irrigation, solar refrigeration, and e-mobility (in addition to solar home systems).

The journey to success, however, was not a straightforward one. Especially in the early stages, delivering prompt after-sales services was challenging – for customers were located all over the country and not always able to report exactly what was wrong with their system. At the same time, customers depended on reliable power supply for running their business – you can only imagine how badly intermittent refrigeration would affect a meat seller! Another problem was the lack of suitable mechanisms that would allow a small company like Focus Energy to offer financing options to customers. PAYG is mostly discussed as being an enabler for end users, but in truth end-user financing is risky. While such risk can usually be absorbed by international companies, Africa-based start-ups like Olou’s see their market share shrink as they are faced with competition by well-networked enterprises with easier access to capital markets.